Friday, October 07, 2005

House passes GAS to build more oil refineries

WA$INGTON -- The oiled-down fat cats got some more welfare from the Republican US House today with passage of the GAS Act. The 212-210 vote was close and contentious, with several Republicans voting against it.

The Dems actually held tough on this one. Good job. Citizens will respect that.

House Republicans are using this unwise bill, unethically attaching it to Hurricane Katrina relief, to shovel more favors to the ultra-rich oil industry. This scam would allow more pollution, while doing nothing to encourage conservation.

This is terrible legislation, an example of the anti-public-interest extremism of Tom DeLay; it should die in the Senate.

Americans want renewable energy now, and more conservation. The people are way ahead of the politicians on this.

The reason why its necessary to build more refineries is the problem with the US Economy. Everything is centered around the affordability of goods and services, if one particular good gets more expensive (Gas) then it collapses a vital part of the economy. Further, its important to have your refineries, like your stock portfolio, diversified and not all in a few spots. A regional catastrophe can wreak havoc on the entire nation (See what happened after Katrina) Its stupid for people to oppose building more refineries. It may be fine that you can go to work on a bicycle, but how does that work for someone living in Benson who needs to commute to Tucson everyday?

I see your point Anonymous. I have always known these issues you have mentioned, however, in this time of real need for change of energy source... wouldn't it be best to spend money and time on some sort of clean energy? Don't you think this is the time? How long will it take to build the refineries? Our economy is already all screwed up. I see more and more hybrid cars being advertised but these cars are kinda on the expensive side. To me this is not good enough..... we have the technoligy, and we should be moving to use a different source of energy. We are banking on an old resource that will not push our economy or country( for that matter) into the future. Drilling in Alaska is not acceptable. I have to commute and gas prices are really gouging at my wallet. Id much rather see us move forward without hurting our enviroment any longer. We can do this............

I agree, better methods are needed to get us around, but the car companies are holding out for more money...like you pointed out, the cost of hybrids are outrageous.

Until everyone (car companies, oil companies, chemical companies et all) are on-board, we are going to have to rely on oil...and we need to meet that need, with more refinieries, more oil drilling and better ways of being INDEPENDANT of foreign oil.

And you know what really pisses me off? All of this was known way back in the seventies. What we need to do is some how turn the tables. I am sure the car companies will claim that thier astronomical prices are paying off researchers and whatnot......same as drug companies. They seem to forget that its us consumers that keep them in business. I swear... if we all had the means..... who would take to horse and buggys again.( I'm raising my hand now)What we need is a Bill Gates of energy.

If you live in Benson and have to commute to Tucson a new refinery ain't gonna help you one sorry little bit, because we are running out of petroleum to refine.

That is why oil companies have not built new refineries.

They're not stupid. They are not going to go about the mean business of investing incredible amounts of money in refineries that will soon have less petroleum to work with. Indeed, refineries that will go idle before the investment can be returned.

More oil drilling? WHERE? American oil production peaked (as in Hubbert's Peak) decades ago. We do not have any more domestic sites to drill, dudes.

Building a refinery is only a good idea if you intend to bilk the rubes out of the money it will cost to put the thing up, because it will never pay for itself. It's a good old-fashioned boondoggle, boys and girls.

Jimmy Carter tried to straighten this out years ago, when we may have had time. Reagan stopped all that because it made too much sense for his stupid brain and stupid administration.

It's basically too late now. And no, the "energy Santa Claus" or a "Bill Gates of energy" is not going to miraculously materialize out of the ether to save the day.

The era of cheap oil is over. Prepare for what comes next, because it's coming whether you like it or not.

Well jeez shrimplate.....here I was thinking you were santa claus. So according to you( you seem to have ALL the answers)we are directed directly towards doom and gloom? Do you not think that there are pleanty of Bill Gates' of energy waiting to expose their grand ideas? I am sure there are....waiting for a big fight from the currently empowered oil companies. The prices of gas although expensive, are not expensive enough yet to rock the boat.......... as soon as it is.... some great mind will prove your gloom and doom theory wrong. Think positive shrimplate.... its all we have.

There is more oil than you can shake a fist at under the states of Colorado and Wyoming...why hasnt it been tapped? We know its there, we have the technology to efficiently get to it, and yet we continue to rely on foreign oil.

Has anyone thought of the fact that this country is over populated? I don't think anyone counted on so many illegals... combine that with the baby boomers and thier descendents....and now we have an energy crisis.( and dont even tell me that illegals cant get a drivers license because they do)Im not saying these are the only reasons either.Drilling in our wild life refuges is NOT acceptable! There are other means of energy out there that are being used, but are not being mass produced. This is fact not fantasy. I am ready for change, and I am willing to help pay for that change... because it will cost much to change.( economic reasons)I am not talking about hybrid cars... I'm talking about different means altogether. We can do this, and that is not fantasy.

Yes, there is oil in some of the mountain states (in shale deposits,) as one of the "anonymous" posters has claimed. Unfortunately, the technologies used to get it out involve burning a great deal of natural gas.

This wasn't so bad for situations in which natural gas supplies were close to the oil deposits. But that is often not the case.

Also, the price of natural gas itself has gone up quite a bit. This is prohibitive.

It has nothing to do with protecting wilderness. There is no army of ecologists anywhere on earth that can stand between oil companies and profitable oil deposits.

The Colorado and Wyoming deposits, like the Canadian deposits of oil shale, are not presently profitable. It takes almost as much energy to get the oil out of the rock as the resultant oil will subsequently produce. And it costs too much money.

There may as well be oil deposits on the moon.

Look, the oil companies have been awash in record profits for quite some time now, and they have not used these enormous sums of money to invest in oil shale recovery nor new refineries.

They aren't making many hydrogen fuel cells either, dudes and dudettes.

They are taking the money and running.

Because they know. So what are planning to do? Just give them more money to run away with?

Yes, there is oil in some of the mountain states (in shale deposits,) as one of the "anonymous" posters has claimed. Unfortunately, the technologies used to get it out involve burning a great deal of natural gas.

This wasn't so bad for situations in which natural gas supplies were close to the oil deposits. But that is often not the case.

Also, the price of natural gas itself has gone up quite a bit. This is prohibitive.

It has nothing to do with protecting wilderness. There is no army of ecologists anywhere on earth that can stand between oil companies and profitable oil deposits.

The Colorado and Wyoming deposits, like the Canadian deposits of oil shale, are not presently profitable. It takes almost as much energy to get the oil out of the rock as the resultant oil will subsequently produce. And it costs too much money.

There may as well be oil deposits on the moon.

Look, the oil companies have been awash in record profits for quite some time now, and they have not used these enormous sums of money to invest in oil shale recovery nor new refineries.

They aren't making many hydrogen fuel cells either, dudes and dudettes.

They are taking the money and running.

Because they know. So what are we planning to do? Just give them more money to run away with?